Hope

Age: 37
Occupation: brain injury therapist/team supervisor
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Princess Cruises
Ship: Star Princess
Sailing Date: August 3rd, 2002
Itinerary: Alaska Inside Passage

I am still thinking about and wishing I was on the Star Princess and in Alaska. I chose the Star very carefully. We went on a cruise to Bermuda on an old and retiring Royal Caribbean ship and we did not research it. It was very small. Well the Star is huge, beautiful and you had so many places to go it never felt crowded. Except at customs in Vancouver where we boarded. Be patient it is worth the wait.

We got an upgrade to a room with an obstructed view but were lucky and we were between life boats and had a fine view. The room was spacious and had plenty of storage space. The steward was never seen but always there...

The personal choice seating was wonderful as was the option to eat in the Horizon Buffet. The food was good. You may have heard it was confusing but once you know the layout and that there is no line it worked fine. We enjoyed the dining rooms and found the food especially the desserts to be excellent.

The entertainment was o.k. We loved Sarge the comedian on board and saw a movie but the cruise show was only o.k. We were pretty tired from the excursions so walking around on the ship after dinner was fine. It is light in Alaska until 9 or 11 the closer we got to Seward.

We did our own exploring in Ketchikan. It is small and manageable and has some nice stores. We did go to the totem museum and salmon hatchery. It was interesting.

In Juneau we went up the Mt. Robers tram and hiked a few miles. Lots of picturesque places and a good workout. We also did the Whale watching trip which was also beautiful and worth it. In Skagway we did the Whitepass Railroad. It rained and we did not think this was worth the money. You can barely take pictures and had to fight for a space in the small outside area and the train was moving most of the trip. You see the same stuff on the way down. Others liked it and others recommended renting a car and going on your own. We then did the Chilkoot hike and Float. It rained really hard and the hike was much steeper that we thought it would be. It is a temperate rain forest and there are few pictures to take and few chances the hiking up and down is so hard and dangerous for novices like us. If you go bring your own rain gear and wear good hiking shoes. They give you the rain gear for the float but that was too late. The float was hard to enjoy in the downpour too. Princess could not control the weather but they should have described the hike in more detail.

The days at Glacier Bay and the College Fjords were gorgeous. It is a great way to go. Three busy days and a few days enjoying scenery on the ship especially this one.

Packing...do not over pack. We are not formal at all so on formal nights we went to the Horizon buffet where there is not dress code. We did wash because of getting so wet. Bring detergent it is cheaper and the machines were good. It actually was easy. Our room was right across the hall so...

Otherwise you do have to wear layers so packing is tricky. We did not wear all of our nice clothes. More and more especially in Alaska people are less formal. Bring an alarm clock. The ship wake up call system got overloading and they did not call us one morning so we had to reschedule excursions and change our days plans. We got chocolate covered strawberries as an apology. Oh yeah room service was great!! Request your bathrobes day one. They came in handy.

The gym was small but the machines were new and good. We went twice. The spa was nice as were all of the pools. There is one that is mostly closed but gets breezy from doors opening and closing. Lots of hot tubs. The Trident grill and pizza place by one of the pools was really good for lunch. They have burgers, hot dogs, garden burgers, etc....

Get a soda card if you drink it is worth the money.

Pre-tipping was fine too. The staff and crew were very accommodating. You can reserve tables for two with personal choice dining. We called the hotline and did it ahead for all nights.

There is probably so much I missed. Alaska is wonderful. Cold at times and rainy but worth every minute we spent there. Learning about wild life and the culture there is very interesting. I Highly recommend this cruise and ship!!!!!

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